Fang and Spear: a meditation on the Ego
Added 2020-08-16 20:38:56 +0000 UTCI recently rewatched Tartakovsky's Primal yesterday for some good old fashioned Saturday morning cartoonage. I was inspired again, as I was upon first watching it to draw this duo, Fang and Spear, in my own style.
I decided to draw "Spear" more after myself then a huge muscular hunk. I think the appeal of a show like this is really to imagine oneself as a "caveman" or early human living in a mythical, prehistoric place and befriending a Tyrannosaur that becomes your companion and steed.
This inevitably leads me to analyze my drawing in a philosophical way and if the caveman is me, the dinosaur may be similar to a dragon which, in mythology, represents your ego holding you in: what you want, what you believe, what you can do. The aim of your life and it might be too small, it might be pinning you down. Especially if it is a reflection of the environment influencing you. In other words, not making your own path, not following your bliss.
I'm a big believer in following your bliss, obviously, since I'm writing this on a Patreon. And that is the the only way to slay the dragon. In the show, Spear's way of operating against the world and the creatures that inhabit it are challenged and he has to change the way he would normally interact with this Tyrannosaur and the way to conquer it was to work in unison with it.
This is all a bit half baked but perhaps you can see what i'm getting at. I'll share more with you as I meditate on this piece and the show. If you have any thoughts on this idea of the dragon as Ego or on Primal, please share it in the comments! I love to know what you guys think.
stay nerdy my friends
~rob
